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Monday, October 31, 2016

WORLD
Mental Health Day is celebrated on October 10 every year worldwide, including
in Brunei Darussalam. It is a day for global mental health education, awareness
and advocacy. This year’s theme, ‘Dignity in Mental Health – Psychological
& Mental Health First Aid for All’, is apt and relevant as it encourages a
culture of openness and cooperation.

In Brunei
Darussalam, the launch of the Mental Health Order and its Code of Practice in
2014 has to a certain extent, contributed to more people coming forward to seek
professional help.

This
marks a significant milestone in the development of mental healthcare in Brunei
Darussalam, particularly in its aims on addressing the care, rehabilitation,
welfare and protection of people with mental health disorders.

This aim
can be further achieved by empowering the public to help through the World
Health Organization (WHO) recommended ‘Look, Listen and Link’ action steps of
Psychological First Aid (PFA), which guides everyone on how to engage and
support individuals with mental health disorders.

Stigma is
defined as a sign of disgrace or discredit, which sets a person apart from
other people. A culture where there is stigma and shame associated with mental
illness discourages help-seeking behaviour and this will delay the help that
persons affected by mental health disorders need.

On-going
prejudices and discrimination are just a few examples that a person may live
through. Throughout the world, many people with mental health illnesses are
often left stigmatised either by others or by themselves.

This can
bring numerous negative expectations toward our own mental health and in turn
stops many people from seeking help and may even try hiding it from others,
especially their love ones. When they do seek help at a very late stage, they
have become so unwell that they need urgent medical attention.

The
impact of non-early intervention may have a huge effect not only to the
individual but also to the family and their next generation. The negative
effects of this can include from a loss of financial income, stress on family
relationships, impairment in caring for his/her own children, not to mention
the strain on the carer having to care for someone suffering with mental health
illness. Thus, this stigma and all that it implies needs to be rectified.

PFA
describes a humane, supportive response to a fellow human being who is
suffering and who need support (WHO, 2011). It is an approach aimed at helping
people who have been very recently affected by an emergency, disaster or a
traumatic event.

The WHO
PFA Guide is built around the following action steps: Look, Listen and Link.
The main principles are to address basic needs such as food and water, and to
protect people from further harm by providing a caring and comforting presence,
connections to information and social supports as well as referrals to
professional services whenever necessary.

The
helper or responder can be supported also by sitting quietly with someone in
distress or who does not want to talk; by offering practical comfort, such as a
glass of water or a blanket, if possible. PFA is designed to be delivered by a
wide variety of people in the community, from emergency personnel to neighbours
and volunteers, in addition to trained PFA responders.

Therefore,
PFA is often offered in community settings wherever it is safe enough to do so
such as at the scene of accident, or places where people who are affected by
the crisis are served, such as health centres, shelters or camps, and schools.

Aside
from this, believe that religious efforts are beneficial for a better state of
mental health. There is a well-known Hadith from Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),
“Verily, in the body there is a piece of flesh, if it is sound then the entire
body will be sound, and if it is corrupt then the entire body will be corrupt,
indeed it is the heart.” (Bukhari & Muslim).

By having
a sound heart, not only do our mental health improves but so does our physical
health. Bear in mind a verse from the Al-Quran, “Verily, in the remembrance of
Allah the Almighty do hearts find rest” (Surah Ar-Ra’d: Verse 28). Perform our
responsibilities and good deeds and make effort to refuse any ill-doings to
find peace.

In a
similar vein, the Ministry of Health strives to provide ‘Person-Centred Care’
which emphasises a recovery-oriented approach to maximise quality of life and
help to de-stigmatise the people affected by the illness and their families.

Healthcare
under this perspective is the responsibility of all involved – patients,
families, health professionals, non-governmental organisations, communities, as
well as governmental agencies and policy makers.

A “Health
is Everyone’s Business” approach is required to tackle this goal effectively.

As much
as possible, treatment should start in the community with the cooperation of
the patients, families, health professionals, and welfare and community
agencies. Hospitalisation may be necessary, but only in more serious cases.

In
support of breaking down the social barriers and changing people’s perspectives
on mental illness, the ministry has consistently worked closely with schools,
community partners, government agencies as well as non-governmental
organisations in raising awareness of mental health.

In the
past, the ministry conducted a series of mental health awareness campaigns and
programmes in the community such as the ‘Mind Your Mind – Jaga Mind Kita’
campaign and the ‘Illness Management Programmes’ across the country.

This
great effort has been part of our constant goal of not only improving the lives
of people affected by mental health illnesses and their families, but also
making sure the community understands the struggle these people face and what
support can be given to them.

With an
active involvement in promoting and in increasing concerns of mental health
also, this can result in increasing the public’s knowledge and their acceptance
about mental health in general. By this, they can play an important role just by
further understanding and appreciating of those who are suffering with mental
health disorders.

It is by
working together with all members of the society and through extensive
participation and promoting that we can maintain good mental health together.

Such a
collective effort, from all walks of life, will have a positive impact in
eradicating the social stigma associated with mental health for the betterment
of our society.

The
Ministry of Health also strives to continue in strengthening the efforts to
improve the quality of mental health service to be more accessible,
comprehensive, holistic and systematic, to meet the requirements of treatment
and care of patients who suffer from psychological and mental health conditions
in this country.

The ministry
believes that such collective efforts will enable this country to contribute to
the worldwide aspiration of taking mental health out of the shadows, so that
public in general feel more confident in tackling the stigma, isolation and
discrimination that continues to afflict people with psychological and mental
health conditions.